Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast!
You can reach me at: AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com.

Well it’s hard to believe that this is the last Friday of the year! But it is a good time to stop and appreciate all that has gone on this year. As I look back over the previous year, I appreciate the people I have met and how much they have inspired me.

Places Where I Traveled
St. Louis Missouri, Chicago, Ft. Smith Arkansas, Little Rock Arkansas, New York City, Salt Lake City and so much more.

I look forward to the coming year with MAAGI about to be launched. The Midwestern African American Genealogy Institute, will take place in July 2013 at Harris-Stowe University, in midtown St. Louis. This should be an exciting event with some wonderful speakers and the genealogy community will have an event for summer 2013 that should be a promising event. The institute’s webiste is now fully up and running and all involved are busy preparing for next July!

This past spring was exciting as I attended a Cemetery preservation conference in Arkansas through PAAC I was thrilled to meet so many delightful children who have a strong interest in history, geography, and preservation. These are members of Jr. PAAC, an inter-generational group where children teach others, what they know about technology, GPS, Google Earth and more. These children were articulate and had so much to share, and I put them in a video on my YouTube Channel, African Roots TV.

I also had a great time when I witnessed the unveiling of the first equestrian statue in Arkansas, when a US Deputy Marshall was honored, who also happened to be a man of color–Bass Reeves. The statue was dedicated in May of 2012, as well.

As the year winds down I also want to pause and to reflect on what 2013 will bring. This will be a year to honor the Emancipation Proclamation which was released on January 1st 1863. This is also the year that the US government created the Bureau of US Colored Troops, allowing men of color to fight for their own freedom. This is a year in which I hope that many of us will appreciate that finally at last, freedom for all was finally including our own ancestors, and we moved a bit further towards making this a more perfect union. Join me in Watch Night exercises.

I also want to thank all of you for listening to me this past year. What an experience it has been. I appreciate all of you for writing in and for listening. Have a safe holiday weekend, a very Happy New Year, and please remember to keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find.

Meta

About Me

Author of "Black Indian Genealogy Research", Member of AAHGS -Afro-American Historical & Gennealogical Society, Founding member of AfriGeneas, Faculty for Samford IGHR, and MAAGI -Midwest African American Genealogy Institute, PAAC-Preservation of African American Cemeteries